It’s amazing how just when you get in a nice little groove with your favorite toddler, they decide to go and screw everything up. In Simon’s case, this means dropping his nap.

That’s right, I now have a 20-month-old who, most days, is awake continuously from 8:00am to 8:00pm. A 20-month-old who will not be dissuaded from this schedule, who would rather scream for an hour as I cuddle him, rub his tummy and sing every song known to man than deign to close his eyes at midday and potentially miss something Exciting. And, not coincidentally, he is now a 20-month-old who nods off in the backseat when we go to pick Jeff up from work, and who has decided to fuss and hit and bite his way through the past several evenings. I WONDER WHY.

Which means that today I’ve bought 10 minutes of silence this way:

I ordered a breadbox from Amazon the other day and it arrived this afternoon in a huuuuuuuuuuuge box. The better to repurpose, eh? Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

…aaaaaaand he’s moved on. Now we’re back to staring at me and tugging at my sleeve in hopes I’ll let him go wreak havoc on the pantry.

Good thing he’s cute.

We’ve been up to a LOT of good adventures these past few weeks. Rather than yammer about them in some huge blog post, you may as well just check out my Flickr photostream. It’s not like a tremendous amount of narration is required anyway 😉

Jeff and I had been hoping to catch a matinee on Saturday but our sitter cancelled on us at the last minute so a change in plans was required. We ended up making the trek up to Cleveland and visiting the science center. It was well worth the trip 🙂

(That’s Jeff’s new profile pic on FB, too :))

Simon learned all about the building blocks of DNA:

And I impressed Jeff by remembering each base pair. 9th grade science FTW? Though to be fair, I’m not sure DNA had been discovered yet when he was in high school 😉

The science center’s little kid play area had a ball pit with all sorts of buckets and pulleys (and a few kids who were definitely not under 6), so we plopped Simon in the middle of it and stood back to see what he thought:

Clearly he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He just grabbed a few balls and froze, while dozens of others whizzed around him in the melee of tiny humanity.

The ramp/tube contraption off in the corner was more his speed 😉

Jeff and I are pretty sure he’d still be there sending that tennis ball whizzing around, if we hadn’t dragged him away after, oh, 6 or 7 hours.

But he was OK, because after that we found a slide!

He climbed the stairs all by himself (with Daddy spotting) and slid down all on his own, over and over.

He was a little trepidatious at first but made a friend who helped him along.

We escaped the kid’s area eventually, though, and found the physics exhibit that was a little bit more interesting for all of us. I LOVE how much hands-on stuff this science center had, and how even on a snowy Saturday afternoon it wasn’t too crowded.

Planetary atmosphere simulations are still a liiiiiiiiittle bit above his level, though. 😉

But drums aren’t!

And this giant wall of gears was pretty much the best thing ever.

Of course, on the way back to Akron we got caught in an end-of-March “fuck you” from the weather (actually it was a quite pretty – 3-4″ of snow that pretty much melted on Sunday) that made for a little bit of nervous driving, as the highway department hadn’t prepped the roads at all.

This week has been pretty busy, but also low-key. Errands (I went to Home Depot yesterday morning and got the supplies for a couple kid projects, and some grass seed and stuff to try and make this place have a modicum of curb appeal for when the homeowners list it for sale this summer), laundry, the usual. It was supposed to rain all day on Tuesday but turned out to be almost 70* and sunny, so I was able to hang out two loads of laundry on the line (first time since, what, November?) and Simes and I went on a long walk that culminated in approximately 45 hours of swinging at the park. I made him push his own stroller, because I am cruel like that.

It’s pouring rain all day today so we probably won’t get to go out (maybe to stomp some puddles in our dragon boots if it lets up a bit), but I got this picture yesterday, which proves that spring really IS coming to northern Ohio 🙂

Hopefully this weekend the weather will cooperate and I can rake up the last of the leaves, maybe get that grass seed down, and get things ready for spring. Until then, I’m going to go make some energy bars with my sous chef and maybe dig into that blueberry bread I baked yesterday for Jeff’s breakfasts. And wait for Simes to drop face-first into a dead sleep in the middle of the playroom at 6:00 because THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU’RE 20 MONTHS OLD AND DON’T NAP. Ahem.

I had the best intentions to blog yesterday, but it didn’t work out. It shouldn’t really be working out today, either, but I’ve bought Simon’s silence with an oatmeal cookie (we baked them this morning. Pecans, dried cherries, cranberries and blueberries. Yum!)

So here we are. Better make this quick!

Our weekend was pretty darn close to perfect. On Saturday we went up to Cleveland to check out West Side Market (I had SUCH a fun time there last fall with Megan and Marin, and wanted to share it with Jeff) and play tourists for a while.

I love that place; it’s well worth the drive! Of course, it’s completely different on a Saturday morning than it is during the middle of the week (DUH), and crowds are, err…not our favorite thing. But Simon was snug in the Tula, so Jeff and I dodged the crowds and bought all the pastries our canvas bag would hold:

And fancy olives. And dolmas. YUM.

So crowded. So neat!

Then we walked over to Great Lakes Brewing for lunch. I had fish and chips; Jeff had a ridiculously good beer, one of their brewery exclusives (I had a few sips) and a really good brat with pierogis (he alleges. Like hell I’m touching a flesh-stuffed intestinal tube.) Simon made do with scraps from home, like usual. Poor baby.

We weren’t quite ready to head back to Akron after lunch, so we decided to check out Cleveland’s natural history museum.

And there we saw OMG DUCKS!

Pretty sure this was the highlight of Simon’s little life; he was absolutely captivated. And chilling there with his sleepy eyes in his little stroller, it was more than a little reminiscent of an old man sitting at a nursing home (and would’ve been sorta sad if it hadn’t been so cute :-P).

We eventually dragged him away, though, and he quickly resumed his ornery toddler-y ways:

Little stinker. He’s my favorite.

As one might expect, he conked out on the drive home and was OK with a quiet evening with Mama Daddy. On Sunday we just hung out around the house and did some chores; pretty quiet.

Yesterday was “challenging”. Someone was in full-on Toddler Mode all day, and it wasn’t necessarily the person you’d expect. By 5:00 I was ready to scream, so we escaped to the post office and the grocery store (exciting!), then picked up Jeff from work. Jeff made the very wise decision to entertain Simon almost all evening, leaving me free to unwind (you know…do dishes and laundry. :-\) It was actually a pretty good time for everyone.

He determined earlier today that sleep is for babies and since he is a big boy, naps are completely unnecessary. See how well that worked out:

We worked on a nap for 2 hours, including a 20-minute intermission in which I took a nice long shower while he stood at the baby gate and talked to me. I warned him that his days of endless pacifier boob are numbered, but to no avail. Toddlers are not well known for their foresight or appreciation.

So, bedtime tonight should be interesting. I predict he’ll either go down in 5 minutes, or 75. Who wants to take bets?

I’m starting to feel guilty about parking my butt in front of the computer for so long, so I’d best be off. Simon and I have been reading “Where Is Your Nose?” off and on as I write. He can now consistently identify his eyes, nose, mouth, chin, ears, hair, tum, hands, knees, and feet. Even when the book isn’t in front of him. Big smart boy! Tomorrow we start calculus.

I talked to Aunt Judy yesterday and she told me that the quilt tops I’m sending her way are next on her list, which means I need to get my butt in gear and, you know, actually send them. Which further means (check out my amazing reasoning skills) that I need to finish the one, rather than just gaze lovingly at the stack of fabric on my sewing shelf. But that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? So instead I’ll just sit here and piddlefart around and eat grapes until Simon wakes up (at which point I’ll kick it into gear and start sewing. Promise ;-))

I just cut myself a thick slice of that bread from Tuesday’s dough pic, but then completely neglected to take a photo before slathering it in Nutella and cramming it in my gaping maw. So, sorry. But also yum. Seriously, go check that out if you want a hearty-yet-soft bread recipe.

Speaking of food (since apparently that’s all I’m capable of at the moment), have you seen the Italian Wonderpot recipe going around Facebook lately? It really seems too good to be true. So in the name of Science!, last night I made it for dinner. Here’s an awful picture just a few minutes before it was ready to serve (you let it simmer down until most of the liquid is evaporated/thickened):

That’s a horribly unappetizing picture, I know, but the actual dinner was pretty good. I used whole wheat spaghetti instead of fettuccini, and stirred in some garlic chicken sausage that I’d browned in my cast iron, just before serving. Our family’s consensus was that it was all right, but grossly under-seasoned (this even after I upped all the seasonings). Next time I think I’ll used Trader Joe’s diced and fire-roasted tomatoes instead of plain diced tomatoes, will add more salt, and maybe 16 oz of spinach instead of just 8 oz (the benefit of 8 oz, though, is that I could convincingly tell Jeff the green flecks were just herbs ;-)). I also think it would be good with Trader Joe’s basil linguine. But all in all it was a good, easy weeknight dinner (with enough leftovers to keep us in lunches for a week!). Add a side of roasted asparagus and a good salad and you’re set.

Yesterday during the day we made our pilgrimage up to Cleveland for Trader Joe’s, and my total was about 1/3 less than usual (even though I bought the ingredients for 10-12 meals, just like always). Part of that is because they didn’t have a few things on my list, but mostly I think it’s because I’m a lot less inclined to dawdle and loiter and browse when I have a tiny tornado pushing the shopping cart than when he’s snugly wrapped on my back. He was OMG SUPER NOT INTERESTED in making the trek home, though, and I didn’t feel like facing a 35-minute car ride of screaming, so we hit up Panera for soup and a bagel (and then a diaper and some boobies) before heading back down to Akron. He slept in the car but only fitfully: overall, definitely not his most satisfying morning. I think it may make more sense to do subsequent adventures in the late afternoon (bonus: then Jeff can haul in the groceries when he gets home from work.)

Today was the penultimate storytime of the late-winter session, and it was a little bit smaller group than usual. Possibly not coincidentally, Simon warmed up a lot more quickly than he has in weeks past. Today he was actually brave enough to dance with the librarian for a moment, and grab his own shaker out of the music basket. Progress! He even pitched a fit when it was time to leave, which was embarrassing but also sort of reassuring. The librarian is going to be out on maternity leave starting in May, and with Garfunkel coming in July the spring session may be our last. I’ll miss it!

After a quick stop at Chipotle for a mama-baby date, we went to a new kids’ consignment shop that just opened a few weeks ago (the owner is a young mom who’s been advertising it on the Facebook baby/kids resale group I follow). She had a pretty large amount of stock, but nothing much that I felt we needed, and most everything was WalMart/Target brands anyway. I got him one little Gymboree shirt for this summer, but think I’ll have to head back down to Once Upon a Child (down in Canton) for a few other things he needs.

Well this one isn’t going to win any “fascinating blog post” awards, is it? Have a sleepy Simon by way of apology:

And now, of course, he’s awake and I’ve got to get my butt off the couch. Until next time!

I tweeted this the other day, but I seriously feel like I am the only person in the northern half of the US who isn’t sick to death of snow by now. We got another 4″ or so overnight, and with today’s shoveling the drifts are officially higher than our car. I’d take a picture but I haven’t been outside yet (Jeff missed the bus and drove himself to work). I think Simes and I are going to take Roxie on a walk later, though, because despite the snow it’s actually not super cold.

Let’s see…it’s been over a week since I posted. What’s been going on?

I finished an AWESOME project and am dying to show it off but I have to keep it under wraps for a while yet (the recipient checks in here every now and again). I’m also trucking along on Jeff’s mansocks (yawwwwnnnnnn) and when I finish those I’m going to reward myself by FINALLY casting on for Catkin. I’ll only be, like, the last person on earth to knit it. I have some yummy Dyeabolical Tenacious Tencel fingering weight set aside for it. It’ll be the first thing I’ve knit for myself since, well, those stripey knee socks (which are now hibernating) that I cast on right before we moved to Ohio. SOMEONE (a pointed look in Simon’s direction) has severely curtailed my knitting time, what with his need for “food” and “diapers” and “stories” and “playing” and “interaction”. Jeez.

We managed to get our act together and hit storytime on Thursday. These storytimes are SO much better than the one we went to in LA. More chaotic, but more fun. Also, there are at least 4 other pregnant moms in the toddler group (plus the teacher/librarian, too). I’d try to make friends if I weren’t so damn shy. And of course the kids are still a little too young to really play with each other, so there’s not even really the whole “hey your kid and my kid like to play together! Want to come to our house for a playdate?” opening. Ah well. Moving in 6 months anyway; I’ll just try harder to make more friends in our next city.

Simon was LOVING the tunnels during the free play time:

After storytime was over we weren’t quite ready to go home but didn’t have any errands to do, so I called Jeff and asked if we could take him to lunch (one of the benefits of living 5 minutes down the road from his work!). We also seized the opportunity to get official “helping Daddy at work” pictures for this office:

Simon is terribly helpful, you see.

Because Jeff and I are boring and old, we didn’t make any plans for Valentine’s Day. But then it turned out that Sarah was free, and there was a showing of the Lego Movie that ended before Simon’s bedtime, and when the stars align so perfectly you can’t just not take advantage of it. So we ditched the baby and went on a romantic date to see a kid’s movie (lol). AND IT WAS AWESOME. It’s one of those movies that really truly isn’t just a kid’s movie or a grownup movie. I really can’t remember the last time I liked a movie so well. Can’t wait to get it on Blu-Ray and share it with Simes when he’s a bit older 🙂

On Saturday we decided to head up to Cleveland and visit the children’s museum, since our last couple of family adventures have been more grownup oriented (the Akron art museum doesn’t really hold a lot of entertainment value for the under-2 set ;-)). It was a little bit expensive for the three of us to get in ($8/person, even though there wasn’t really anything even remotely interesting for grownups), but Simon LOVED the whole thing so I guess he got $24 worth of fun out of it for all of us. (Seriously though – since kids get reduced/free admission to a lot of grownup events, doesn’t it seem like grownups should get it for kid events? It’s not like Jeff and I were personally enriched by the fake grocery store or fire truck setups).

Here is where I spam you, big time. Sorry (not sorry).

We spent the first half hour or so in a play area that was done up like a farm, for the really young crowd:

Simon spent most of his efforts repeatedly mowing the carpet, but he also took a turn on the tumbling/crawling mats and played with the silo/crops activity. At one point when we’d just been there for a few minutes, Jeff and I were watching him play and Jeff said to me: “See how he’s over playing all alone? I wish he’d play with the other kids.” I told Jeff, “What do you think we’re doing?” We looked around and sure enough, across the room was a cluster of other parents all socializing, while we were off in the opposite corner with our arms crossed.

At least we know where he gets it 😛

Also, one of the moms in the room was wearing a “flags of the confederacy” t-shirt with camo pants and combat boots. I’m not sure they would’ve been our type, anyway.

More than the farm area, though, Simes loved the suspension bridge that was in the “city” (bank/grocery store/doctor’s office area):

After a few hesitant steps, he was trotting back and forth across it like a pro.

But the best thing of ALL was the water activity. This thing was so cool, even as a grownup. (Maybe I did get my $8 worth after all)

They had rain jackets in every size and step stools for the little ones, and Simon immediately cozied up to the table and set to work.

For a while, his primary occupation consisted of holding his arm over a spout and sending water jetting up his sleeve (so much for the cute little rain jacket).

Explaining his master plan to Daddy:

They had a bunch of bath and pool toys, magnetic fishing poles and random floaties:

Further upstream (we were at the downstream end) there were more complicated things set into the table – mechanical water wheels, locks, etc. – but those were arranged at a higher level (apparently for older kids and, you know, gravity) so we didn’t mess with them too much. Not gonna lie, I sort of wanted to go play, but Jeff wouldn’t let me shove 6-year-olds out of the way.

Once the little dude was thoroughly waterlogged and getting cranky, we headed home (after a full wardrobe change in the car, of course). He conked out before we even made it onto the highway. Success!

Sunday was quiet – Jeff judged a mock trial thing and we ran out for haircuts and FroYo – and that was our weekend! Just right 🙂

We’ve officially reached the stage where I adore sleepy Simon pictures more than ever, as they belie the sheer chaos that encircles his every waking moment. I look at pictures like this and he’s just so quiet and peaceful and I love it. But then he wakes up and we go spin in circles and play fetch with the dog and build massive block towers just to kick them down, and that’s even more fun.

Isn’t he just utterly kissable?

This afternoon we’re making 12-grain sandwich bread:

I use this recipe and Bob’s Red Mill 12-grain cereal, which makes the whole thing so easy that most of the time it’s honestly more convenient than going to the store. And it tastes like a gazillion times better too, because DUH. (Also I add 2T each of vital wheat gluten and soy lecithin, because I can. It also helps the dough have a little more resilience, while still being soft and tender. Come to think of it, I could use some vital wheat gluten and soy lecithin for myself. :-P)

And now I need to go tend to my dough and build some of those aforementioned block towers. Hi-YA!

Simon and I are both wearing our crankypants today. Simon because he’s been prodded and messed with all afternoon, me because I’ve spent all day in happyfun smiley nurturing mode (y’all know how I mean), and all I really want is to just be left the fuck alone for 5 minutes. I think this blogging counts towards those 5 minutes (Simon is conked out upstairs for the moment) so I should probably quit my bitching and get on with it.

So anyway. We had a pretty mellow weekend. Sarah came over and watched Simon while I went to a happy hour with Jeff and his co-workers on Friday night. It’s always so nice to get out for an hour or two, even if it’s just to drink Diet Coke and eat pub popcorn shrimp. Sarah actually came early enough that I could sneak upstairs and sew for a bit, which was nice. Who would have thought it’s easier to be productive when one isn’t constantly being interrupted to play baby fetch or applaud another round of shape-sorting?

Saturday was pretty low-key. We had the Olympics on in the background all day, of course, and Jeff had a work brunch at an amazing cafe up in Cuyahoga Falls (spoiler: I’m about to make him take me there next weekend :-D), then we ran a couple errands. Since Simon is all about being my sous chef lately, I decided he needed an apron to match his new role. So I got some medium-weight denim and this pattern at JoAnn:

(The one on the far right for him; I may make the second from left for myself sometime) It’s got an adjustable neck (where the neck and waist straps are one long piece of fabric threaded through channels on the sides of the chest) so should grow with him for a few years.

Yesterday we got some surprise! snow, about 5-6″ worth, so we stayed in all day. Our Elantra just does NOT handle snow well (apparently a known issue for new Elantras), and literally every time we go on an unplowed road we’re guaranteed to get stuck. If we end up in a wintry city then I’m sure we’ll invest in some snow tires, but for this year we just play weenie and don’t venture out until everything’s plowed. And it only took me half a dozen times getting stuck on our own street to reach that conclusion.

I mentioned that Simon has had a bit of a rough day today. We had to go to the outpatient lab at Children’s to get some bloodwork done (our ped wants a routine hemoglobin and iron check). When I had my hcg checks at the General hospital’s lab, both times I just walked in, waited a few minutes and was taken care of. Easy peasy. But when we showed up at the Children’s lab, the place was hoppin’. We waited almost an hour just to get signed in. By the time they actually called us back, Simon had just about used up his reserves of “good”. Then of course there was the whole issue of stabbing his widdwe finger and extracting two tiny vials of blood. He was NOT a happy chicken. Even the Hot Wheels that a nurse gave us was no good. Poor Simes. When the nurses (it took two to get the job done, plus me holding him on my lap) were done, we retreated to the waiting room for some booby and calm-down time before heading home. Where, of course, he conked out almost immediately: But sadly it didn’t last (so much for my 5 minutes), so here’s our present configuration:

And snuggles and human-pacifier-ing are A-OK with me right now. It’s 5:30 and I can’t bear to wake him, which I’m sure I’ll regret at bedtime, but for now it’s great 🙂

Time to wake him for real, though, and go get Daddy! That should cheer us both up. 🙂

Many thanks to everyone for the comments, Facebook posts, texts and emails congratulating us on our impending addition! We are so stinkin’ excited to meet Garfunkel. Based off the pancake theory of birth order, this one should be even better than Simon! (Nooooooooooo)

Speaking of my most favorite bigboy, I juuuuust got him down for a nap. He’s having a very Toddler day today, complete with “tired but don’t want to sleep” fussiness, “not THAT water bottle!” pickiness, and also adorable fun at every turn. So I’m consoling myself with an Amy’s pizza pocket and some veggie chips for lunch.

He’s got this new trick that I tried SO hard to get a picture of, but completely failed. We call it the “demon imp” face. He pulls it with no warning, and it’s the most laugh-out-loud ridiculous combination of furrowed brow, sly smile, and upcast glance. It’s just…oh I have got to take a picture. He did it once at dinner last night and Jeff and I both just DIED, then at breakfast he did it again. We were Skyping with my mom this morning and he started doing it on demand, egged on by Mom and me cackling every time he pulled the face.

Every time I head into the kitchen to work now (even if it’s just to wipe down the counters or make a snack), Simon follows me in and pushes a kitchen chair up to the counter to help me cook. And he won’t take no for an answer. He helped me throw together our dinner salad the other day:

And yesterday we made some jam bars. He tested them out, taking his role quite seriously, this morning:

He’s been a clingy sleeper lately; I’ve had trouble extricating during his naps (there was a 45-minute intermission in my post here when he roused just long enough to get me thoroughly stuck). But it’s hard to mind too much; before long I won’t be able to nap under him all the time like this.

His little head still smells so nice. Sweet and salty and warm.

Today is National Frozen Yogurt day so I think we’re going to run to Menchie’s for dessert tonight. (I’m going to do Indian food from the TJ’s frozen section for dinner). If you Like Menchie’s on Facebook you’ll get a coupon for 6 oz free, today only. Sweet! (Or tart)

And now I’m going to try and finish folding laundry before my helper wakes up.

We told our families last week and posted it on Facebook on Sunday, but it’s not official until The Blog knows:

Simon is going to be a big brother! 🙂

We’re about 16 weeks pregnant (found out on Nov. 21), which means we’re looking at a late July-ish arrival date. So far this pregnancy is super easy like my last one, complicated only by the fact that it’s about ten times more exhausting to chase around a toddler than to sit at a desk all day. We found a great midwife who really jives with our philosophy (which is lucky; there aren’t many home birth midwives in Ohio, much less ones who actually bring medical supplies to births and have a friendly working relationship with docs at the local hospital in the event of transfer). Simon still doesn’t really get what’s going on, but that’s to be expected since he’s so young. We’re reading lots of books on the topic and I’m going to get him a baby doll at Target, but I doubt he’ll really get it until Hoopling #2 (temporarily called Garfunkel, naturally) actually shows up.

So yay babies!

Our weekend was pretty good. Friday after Simon’s ped checkup we had lunch with Jeff, then Simes and I went to Canton and got him some clothes for spring at Once Upon a Child, and a few maternity pieces for myself (most of my things from last time aren’t nursing-friendly). We went up to Cleveland on Saturday because Jeff needed some work clothes and I was out of my LUSH face wash stuff. Definitely not our most exciting adventure, but Simes got some quality Tula Time with his Daddy and I got a change of scenery from Akron for a bit, so it’s all good. I ran a few errands by myself on Sunday, which was LUXURY. I missed having someone to talk to as I pushed my cart around Target, but it was nice to browse in peace and not spend my time supervising the wee one as he pushes the shopping cart or tries to wander away. I treated myself to popcorn and a Diet Coke to make it a real escape 😀 We turned on the football game Sunday night, but we’re not really a football house so it was more about the commercials and halftime show than the stupid game.

I know it’s not quite the same, but I feel compelled to insert this here:

And I suppose that I am Moss in that scenario. Goody.

Mr. Cuteness was in rare form yesterday morning:

He was rolling grapes all over the high chair. Apparently it has juuuust a hint of a slant to it, so he was “racing” them, shooting them like pool balls, the whole nine yards. I made a video but, in true toddler fashion, he stopped as soon as the camera came out:

After breakfast we actually went BACK up to Cleveland to hunt down a couple fabrics that my local JoAnn doesn’t carry, then stopped by a quilt shop in Hudson that I’d heard good things about. I got a few half-yard lengths for my stash. Maybe to go into Garfunkel’s quilt; maybe not.

I’d love to tell you all about what I’m working on right now, but it must remain secret for a while yet. But it’s going to be awesome! HINT:

And no, I promise you on my great-great-great grandmother’s grave that it has nothing to do with Garfunkel. For serious. (Just like last time, we’re not finding out if it’s a boy or girl)

Since driving all over northeast Ohio seems to be my hobby as of late, today we went down to Canton for some lunch and shopping with Kathy. We went to this place called The Flower Factory, which is a closeout store sort of like a Michael’s-meets-HomeGoods. I can’t show you any pictures of my finds yet because they’re in the car and I’m lazy (HONESTY), but I got a couple delicious candles, some seasonal decorations for next fall and winter, and a few random craft supplies. All told, we spent about two hours wandering around just looking at everything. That place is like a dream! I can’t wait to go back 🙂

Here’s one pic that I grabbed in the store:

Just aisle after aisle of heavily discounted seasonal stuff, decor, craft supplies, party items, and (I wish I’d gotten a picture of this) disposable “spa thongs”. Needless to say, I stocked up. I hate having to re-use my spa thongs.

We enjoyed a long lunch and catch-up session at Max and Erma’s, and Simon got some quality attention that he is sooooooo desperately lacking (or so he says). We’re so lucky to have a friend in Kathy! ❤

My little dragon also got the awesomest present ever: his very own castle!

Kathy, he has had SO much fun playing with it, ever since he woke up from his nap! Thank you SO SO SO MUCH.

Apparently the king needed a kiss:

In our version, the DRAGON is the master and sits on the throne:

OK well somebody is staring at me and shaking an empty snack dish my direction, so I believe I’m being summoned. Have a great evening, everyone!